(Burness Communications) While water-related conflicts and shortages abound throughout the rapidly changing societies of Africa, Asia and Latin America, there is clearly sufficient water to sustain food, energy, industrial and environmental needs during the 21st century, according to two special issues of the peer-reviewed journal, Water International, released today at the XIV World Water Congress.

(TogoRun) Urgent coordinated action from national governments, medical societies and patient organizations is needed to avoid a public health crisis resulting from the tide of preventable strokes that leave many people with atrial fibrillation mentally and physically disabled or dead, every year. “How Can We Avoid a Stroke Crisis in Latin America?,” a report from Action for Stroke Prevention — a group of health experts from around the world — reveals the huge economic, social and personal burden of AF-related strokes across the region.

(Burness Communications) A new study has matched future climate change “hotspots” with regions already suffering chronic food problems to identify highly vulnerable populations, chiefly in Africa and South Asia, but potentially in China and Latin America as well, where in fewer than 40 years, the prospect of shorter, hotter or drier growing seasons could imperil hundreds of millions of already impoverished people.

Six leading young conservationists from Latin America will pursue projects aimed at protecting diverse ecosystems, using $20,000 awards from New York’s Overbrook Foundation. The annual awards, announced today, are administered by the Center for Environmental Research and Conservation (CERC) at Columbia University’s Earth Institute.

The Overbrook Conservation Fellows Program, initiated in 2003, is aimed at supporting long-lasting contributions to sustaining the environment. The foundation has made Latin American biodiversity a central focus of its work. “There is often a shortage of great conservationists in the places where they are most needed, and there is rarely if ever outside support for these key leaders,” said Stephen A. Foster, president and CEO of The Overbrook Foundation. CERC implements the program on behalf of the foundation because of its experience in supporting local conservation champions, and its ongoing projects and relationships with the Latin American conservation community.

Potential fellows are identified by a nominating panel of conservationists and scientists with a deep knowledge of the ecological issues facing the region; a selection committee makes the final decisions. According to Herb Raffaele, chief of The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and selection committee member, “This initiative gets at the heart of what conservation is all about–investing in dynamic individuals who care about the environment and dedicate their lives towards making a difference.” Enrique Ortiz, a senior program officer at the Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation, also on the committee said, “We can see now the results of the fellowships, with several awardees making a change in their countries. They have become more empowered individuals and activists for environmental causes.”

The Overbrook Foundation, located in New York City, is a family foundation established in 1948 by Helen and Frank Altschul. Currently the Foundation has an endowment of approximately $185 million and awarded $9.4 million in grants during 2006. Its key funding areas are environment and human rights. The foundation’s environment program, headed by Daniel Katz, supports organizations working to develop better consumption and production habits in the United States and in Latin America. In Latin America the primary objective is to conserve dwindling biodiversity.

More information, visit: www.overbrook.org